The Allahabad High Court recently stated that an employee can choose to decline a promotion without the need for specific provisions in the Service Regulations.
Justice Manish Mathur’s bench handled a petition challenging the decision to promote the petitioner to the role of collection amin. The petitioner, initially a collection peon, contested the promotion order.
The person who filed the case worked as a collection amin for five months and then asked to give up the promotion. The court said that employees have the right to be considered for a promotion, but they also have the right to refuse it. This right doesn’t need specific rules in the job regulations.
While job rules permit employees to return to a lower position under specific conditions, the right to decline a promotion is distinct and doesn’t require special regulations.
The HC stated that if an employee decides to decline a promotion and give up the related rights, it’s considered their right to do so. This is because service regulations are like a contract between the employer and the employee, and individuals can voluntarily surrender rights as long as it doesn’t go against public policy.
The court referred to a previous case where the Supreme Court highlighted that constitutional rights aim to protect individual rights within certain boundaries, forming a pattern of guarantees for basic human rights.
